did i ruin this new johnny joint?

i'm planning to follow johnjohn's lead and use the RE HD trackbar mount w/ my current RE trackbar (RE1600) modified with the currie johnny joint instead. the jj doesn't come pressed together, so after checking w/ 3 places hoping for a press (napa, etc.) i decided to do it myself w/ a bench vice and 3/4" socket.

eventually got it together (after bending the vice lever and bursting a few blood vessels in my head! d*mn that was hard.) -- should i be able to move the joint freely by hand? cuz this thing ain't moving in any direction...

let me know if i just made a $40 paperweight.

thanks.
:cheers:

It will not move by hand. 2' Long rod will move it.

Did you grease it before you put it together?

hinkley

JJoints are a b1tch to press is.
I use a 20 ton press and a screw drive snap compressor that I have to hold with two hands.
I had to turn a stub of tube down so that it was just small enough to clear the snap ring heads but big enough to not bow out the washer while under the press. I swear there is only about 0.010" of tolerance in assembling those things.
And I cuss more with those fr*#king things than anything else.

And, "no" you will not be able to move it by hand once pressed in. I still can't move my 4 year old and used hard ones by hand.

So long as the snap ring is full seated and the washers are still flat, everything should be good.

P.S.
Pumping grease into them is also going to be a b1tch until they wear a little more.

Mark Hinkley said:

It will not move by hand. 2' Long rod will move it.

Click to expand...

good to know, thanks...

Did you grease it before you put it together?

Click to expand...

umm, no... guessing that is the wrong answer?!

D'OH! :dunce:

C-ROK said:

So long as the snap ring is fully seated and the washers are still flat, everything should be good.

Click to expand...

define "fully seated"...

actually it is now, but wasn't quite at first (much to my chagrin).
thanks for the note about the washers-- i'll check those tonight.

P.S.
Pumping grease into them is also going to be a b1tch until they wear a little more.

Click to expand...

any suggestions? i didn't know to grease it before assembly, so i should probably figure this out before installing it on the jeep...

thanks!

I like to do what I refer to as "bench greasing"

Install the bolt into the JJ and tighten the nut. Use the washers also.

Then put the nut in a vise and tighten up, that is the nut on the bolt!

Using a grease gun start pumping grease into it, then move the arm/tb/whatever it is, around and around. Add more grease as needed. Do this until grease is all over the place.

This will help make the JJ work better right from the beginning!


hinkley

Mark Hinkley said:

I like to do what I refer to as "bench greasing"

Install the bolt into the JJ and tighten the nut. Use the washers also.

Then put the nut in a vise and tighten up, that is the nut on the bolt!

Using a grease gun start pumping grease into it, then move the arm/tb/whatever it is, around and around. Add more grease as needed. Do this until grease is all over the place.

This will help make the JJ work better right from the beginning!


hinkley

Click to expand...

Exact-amundo.